Page 59 of Chasing Infinity

“We got an alert about a missing woman a few hours ago. Apparently, she went missing from a rest stop off US 7 just outside Manchester. No one has any idea who took her or which direction they went. We’ve been on it all day. I’ve got my crews hovering over the highways and nearby gas stations, but the camera footage from the rest stop was unhelpful. There were no witnesses—I’ve got nothing.”

“So it could be my father.”

“I don’t know, Noah. Do you really think he would instigate something of this measure while you’re back in his town?” Charlie asks me. “If he did, that would be the biggestfuck youI’ve ever heard of. No, my gut tells me that this was someone else, someone unrelated.”

“Just don’t scratch him off as a suspect. This whole thing is right up his alley,” I tell him. “He could be toying with us.”

Charlie narrows his eyes at me. “Maybe—that’s actually why I wanted to talk to you today before everything went batshit around here. Your father came to see me this morning.”

“That—” I pause, letting this new information sink in, “is not good.” My anxiety kicks up a notch, and I inhale a deep breath, dampening it further, shoving it down, so it doesn’t take over.

“No,” Charlie agrees with me, scowling down at his desk. “Definitely not. Apparently, I have a mole on my squad who thinks it’s more beneficial to report to the mayor than me.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that Mayor McCoy is fully aware of our investigation into Orville Marks. This morning, he came here and informed me that an officer came to him to alert him that we were using department resources for an external investigation. The mayor was not too pleased.”

“Department resources?” I laugh. “That’s a stretch.”

“Well stretch nonetheless, the mayor is cracking down on the department and funding. He’s onto us.”

I press my lips into a thin line, the pieces of this whole ordeal slowly starting to come together. “He asked me to come to dinner tonight.”

Charlie’s eyes widen. “Shit. I don’t like that at all. Be careful, Noah.”

“So I’m not crazy to think that he’s got some ulterior motive behind all this façade?”

“Definitely not,” Charlie affirms. “He’s your father. You probably know his tricks. Not to mention you’re a seasoned professional at this kind of shit, and if you have a bad feeling, then there’s probably some merit to that.”

“I wanted to make sure you knew what was going on before I went over there, just in case something bad were to happen,” I tell him, grateful for the first time in my entire damn life that I have Charlie Sullivan on my team.

“Thanks for telling me. I’ll stay late tonight, just in case shit blows up. Does Addie know?”

“She just knows I’m going over there this evening. I told her I would fill her in on everything else after I got back,” I tell him. When he frowns at me, I continue, “It’s time. I can’t keep her in the dark forever. If we’re going to be anything more than what we are right now, we need to be on even footing.”

“Is that what you want? More with her?”

“Man, if I could have everything with her, I’d take it in a heartbeat. I’d travel to the ends of the world for her, you know that. But as it were, I’m kind of wrapped up in the middle of all this mess. So for now, I’ll take what I can get.”

“For now?”

“For now,” I say firmly. He doesn’t need to be privy to everything in my world. It’s not necessary to tell him that I’ve started thinking through another obstacle standing between Parks and me—the fact that I don’t actually live here anymore. It’s a work in progress, one that set up camp in the back of my mind since my return, especially now that we’ve changed the dynamic so significantly. My moving here would involve a lot more than just a handful of boxes, and that might take some finagling on my end.

“Did you see if you could come with me to check out the Witch House next Friday?” I ask Charlie, changing the subject back to the case. I had heard back from the realtor about checking out the shoddy worn-down shack next week, and I was hoping Charlie would be able to go with me as a backup and a second pair of eyes.

“Yeah, I did. That should work for me. Are you sure you still want to do that, though?” he replies, his hand running over the line of his jaw. “I still don’t think there’s going to be anything there.”

“I’m sure. I just have a weird feeling about it.”

“You’re the boss, man. You tell me when and I’ll be there.”

“Will do. Hey, do you mind if I camp out here for a while? I don’t want to go back to Parks’ place cause she’ll just worry, but I need to do some work before going tonight.”

Charlie gets me set up at a spare desk in the back. I settle in and pull up the browser. I can’t get to all of my files on this computer since it’s not secure, but I can access my email account; that will be enough for now. I make a few phone calls and send a few emails over the next few hours, ensuring that everything is set for this meeting and that I’m not walking into anything blind. I’ll still be going on my own. However, it’s probably a good call to have people know what the hell is going on tonight just in case.

The morning flies by and goes straight into the afternoon. I do what I need to do and assist Charlie in this missing woman case, but there’s not much I can do on that front, given that there have been no leads on her. Though it’s right in line with my area of expertise, I’ve got bigger things to worry about right now.

Three o’clock rolls around, and I stand from my makeshift desk. I need to get out of here before I go crazy. My hands are twitching with the energy building up in my body, and I decide to take a walk around the square to try and alleviate it. I still have a handful of hours before I’m expected at my father’s house. It’s not really a surprise that I find myself on the old wooden bridge overlooking the pond in the center of town. It always used to be home base—glad to see that hasn’t changed. I lean against the railing and look down into the murky water, willing my fight-or-flight response to settle a bit.

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